She is called Rose, and she works in a House of Pretty Ladies. This is not me, I am not here, she tells herself when she is with clients. But the night after the city falls victim to a conquering empire, she encounters a young prince whose sadness makes it impossible for her to keep her own griefs forgotten.

Spring comes, and Rose becomes more restless. The conquerors start home but the prince lingers, and she wonders if he will ask her to go back with him. She does not know if she loves him, or if that even matters. For the first time in the years since she fled to Madame’s House, Rose considers what she wants and whether it might be possible to hope again. It would mean becoming open as a child: it would mean believing that there could be comfort and solace, relief and love.

A novella and anti-fairy tale with a medieval setting, Rose explores themes of love and loss, healing and the fragility of hope.

Rebecca Lartigue teaches literature at Springfield College. Last year the Springfield Cultural Council (a local division of the Massachusetts Cultural Council) awarded her an Artist Fellowship in support of her fiction. Her work has appeared in The Speculative Edge and is forthcoming in Massachusetts Review. She can be reached via the contact page at www.rebeccalartigue.com.